Child&#39;s sleep collar

ABSTRACT

A child&#39;s sleep collar for use with a child safety seat that includes a pair of collar supports, forming a left and a right collar support. Each of the collar supports has a body, an attachment end, and a coupling end. The attachment end includes an attachment strap and is designed to attach respectively to a left or right belt positioning clip of a child safety seat. The coupling end of each collar support forms a generally planar surface and has a left or right collar fastener respectively attached to the planar surface. Each of the collar fasteners is designed to releasably engage the other collar fastener. When the collar fasteners are attached, the left planar surface faces the right planar surface. The body of each collar support includes a cushion fill material and is preferably tubular.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 06/228,287 filed Aug. 28, 2000 entitled “Child'sSleep Aid Collar.”

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to child safety seat for a motorvehicle and a child's sleep collar or child's headrest for use with achild safety seat. More particularly, the present invention relates toan apparatus for supporting the head of a forward facing sleeping childwhile riding in a car safety seat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Conventional child safety seats are designed to secure childrenin vehicles and to restrain them in the event of an impact. Beginning ataround 1 year of age, children sit upright in forward facing car seats,often for long periods of time. Toddlers and older children in the rangeof 30-80 pounds typically sit upright in high back booster seats. In anychild safety seat, the potential for a child to doze or fall asleepwhile sitting in the car seat is high. When this occurs in a forwardfacing car seat or booster seat, the child's head typically sags,droops, or hangs unsupported in a forward or lateral position from theneck. This hanging position is uncomfortable for the child and mayresult in excessive strain on the neck muscles or other injuries.

[0004] In order to address the lack of neck and head support ofconventional child safety seats, various designs have been proposed.Many of these designs are adapted to attach to a conventional childsafety seat and to provide lateral head support, but they typicallyprovide only minimal frontal head support. Such headrests typicallyleave an opening at the front, which minimizes strangulation hazards,but which also minimizes frontal head support. For example,Baskin-Lockman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,100, discloses a headrestthat is detachably connectable to the backrest portion of a child safetyseat. Although the Baskin-Lockman headrest provides lateral support to achild's head, it merely attempts to deter forward motion of a child'shead through the use of a pillow shaped lower portion on its lateralsupports. The Baskin-Lockman headrest does not positively support thechin or otherwise provide positive support to a child's head as itdroops forward.

[0005] To avoid any strangulation concerns and yet positively support achild's chin, other known child headrest designs have been proposed thatsurround the child's neck, but are wholly unattached to the child safetyseat. Headrests such as these provide frontal and lateral support, butbecause they are unattached to a seat, they are easy for a person tomisplace or to forget to install. For example, Rogers, U.S. Pat. No.D353,966, discloses a triangular headrest that surrounds a child's neck,but does not attach to a seat. The Roger's headrest uses a hook and loopfastener to connect the forward legs of its headrest to each other inorder to surround a child's neck. The hook and loop fastener of theRoger's headrest uses the hook and loop fastener in the shear directionto positively attach the headrest legs to each other. As such, theRoger's headrest is not designed to release in front of a child's chinwith forward motion of the child relative to the headrest. Rather, theRoger's headrest is designed to remain firmly attached around thechild's neck, but not attached to the child safety seat.

[0006] As understood from the foregoing discussion, there is a need fora device attached to a child safety seat, which provides lateral andfrontal support to the head of a sleeping child restrained in the childsafety seat, and which does not present a strangulation hazard to thechild in the event of an accident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention has been developed to overcome theforegoing limitations and disadvantages of conventional headrests forchild safety seats, and to generally fulfill the need in the art for achild's sleep aid that provides forward and lateral support to a child'shead, attaches to a child safety seat, but that does not restrain achild's neck in the event of an accident.

[0008] According to the invention, there is provided a child's sleepcollar for use with a child safety seat that includes a pair of collarsupports, forming a left and a right collar support. Each of the collarsupports has a first and a second end. The first end is designed toattach respectively to a left or right belt positioning clip of a childsafety seat The second end of each collar support forms a generallyplanar surface and has a left or right collar fastener respectivelyattached to the planar surface.

[0009] Each of the collar fasteners are designed to releasably engagethe other collar fastener. When the collar fasteners are attached,thereby coupling the left collar support to the right collar support,the left planar surface faces the right planar surface. Although almostany fastener that releasably engages an opposing fastener may beappropriate, it is preferable to use fasteners that, when coupled,provide a greater retention force between the fasteners in the sheardirection than in the tensile direction.

[0010] Each of the collar supports preferably further includes a bodyhaving an attachment end and a coupling end. Each coupling end includesthe respective collar support second end, planar surface, and collarfastener. An attachment strap is preferably connected to each attachmentend for attaching to a respective belt positioning clip of a childsafety seat. Further, each attachment strap preferably forms a loop thatconnects around a belt positioning dip and retains the loop using a hookand loop fastener.

[0011] The body includes a cushion fill material and is preferablytubular. In one aspect of the invention, each body is substantiallyarcuate and is adapted to translate a force applied ly against thearcuate body, when the bodies are coupled to each other and are attachedto a child safety seat, into a tensile force between the fasteners. Inanother aspect of the invention, each body is substantially straight andis adapted to translate a force applied perpendicularly against thestraight body into a tensile force between the fasteners. This occurswhen the force is applied in a direction substantially perpendicular tothe straight body and away from the opposing body when the bodies arecoupled to each other and are attached to a child safety seat.

[0012] According to another aspect of the invention, either the left orthe right collar support is substantially U-shaped, and the other collarsupport is substantially straight. Additionally, according to adifferent aspect of the invention, either the left or the right collarsupport is substantially V-shaped, and the other collar support issubstantially straight.

[0013] According to yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a child safety seat for a motor vehicle that includes a seatbase, a seat back attached to the seat base, a pair of belt positioningdips for receiving a motor vehicle shoulder belt, and child's sleepcollar as recited above.

[0014] It is an object of the present invention to provide a child'ssleep collar for use with a child safety seat that provides lateral andfrontal support to a child retained within a child safety seat.

[0015] It is another object of the present invention to provide achild's sleep collar for use with a child safety seat, which attaches tothe child safety seat, and which closes in front of the neck of a childretained within a child safety seat, but releases across a child's neckin the event of an impact or car accident.

[0016] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide achild's sleep collar for use with a child safety seat that adjustablyand releasably attaches to the child safety seat.

[0017] It is a further object of the present invention to provide achild's sleep collar for use with a child safety seat that attaches tothe belt positioning dips of a child safety seat.

[0018] It is another object of the present invention to provide a childsafety seat that includes a child's sleep collar that provides lateraland frontal support to a child retained in the seat.

[0019] It is another object of the present invention to provide a childsafety seat that includes a child's sleep collar that closes in front ofthe neck of a child retained within the seat, and that releases across achild's neck in the event of an impact or car accident.

[0020] Further areas of applicability of the present invention willbecome apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. Itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention,are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended tolimit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0022]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a child's sleep collar of thepresent invention, showing the sleep collar installed on a child safetyseat located within a motor vehicle according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 2 is a front view of the child's sleep collar of FIG. 1,showing the sleep collar installed on a child safety seat without achild sitting in the seat.

[0024]FIG. 3 is a side view of the child's sleep collar of FIG. 2,showing the sleep collar installed on a child safety seat without achild sitting in the seat.

[0025]FIG. 4 is a front view of the child's sleep collar of FIG. 1,showing the sleep collar installed on a child safety seat, and in use bya child retained in the safety seat.

[0026]FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the child's sleep collar ofFIG. 1, shown detached from the child safety seat.

[0027]FIG. 6 is a front view of the child's sleep collar in accordancewith the second embodiment, showing the sleep collar installed on achild safety seat and in use by a child retained in the seat.

[0028]FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view of the child's sleep collar ofFIG. 6, shown detached from the child safety seat.

[0029]FIG. 8 is a front view of the child's sleep collar in accordancewith the third embodiment, showing the sleep collar installed on a childsafety seat and in use by a child retained in the seat.

[0030]FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view of the child's sleep collar ofFIG. 8, shown detached from the child safety seat.

[0031]FIG. 10 is a front view of the child's sleep collar in accordancewith the fourth embodiment showing the sleep collar installed on a childsafety seat and in use by a child retained in the seat.

[0032]FIG. 11 is an enlarged front view of the child's sleep collar ofFIG. 10, shown detached from the child safety seat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) ismerely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit theinvention, its application, or uses.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, there is shown a child's sleep collar foruse with a child safety seat according to the first preferred embodimentof this invention. The child's sleep collar 10 is shown installed on achild safety seat 12, shown here as a booster seat. The child safetyseat 12 is shown installed in the second row of seats of a vehicle 14.In this embodiment, the child's sleep collar 10 is a two part U shapepillow-like collar that generally includes a pair of collar supportsforming a left collar support 16 and a right collar support 18.

[0035] With particular reference to FIG. 5, each collar support 16, 18generally includes a body 20, 22; cushion fill material (not shown)retained within the body; an attachment strap 24, 26; and a fastener 28,30. Each body 20, 22 has an attachment end 32, 34, and a coupling end36, 38. Each attachment strap 24, 26 is attached to the respectiveattachment end 32, 34. Each coupling end 36, 38 defines a substantiallyplanar surface 40, 42, and each fastener 28, 30 is disposed along therespective planar surface 40, 42.

[0036] Each body 20, 22 further includes a tubular portion 44, 46 and anoptional reinforcement strip 48, 50. Each tubular portion 44, 46 ispreferably made from at least one layer of cotton, cotton blend,cotton/polyester fabric or other like soft durable washable materialthat is formed into a generally elbow-shaped tube. To create eachtubular portion 44, 46, the fabric is cut from pattern layouts and sewnto form an elbow-shaped tube. A thin strip piece of fabric mayoptionally be sewn on the inner side of the elbow to form areinforcement strip 48, 50. At the coupling end 36, 38 of each body, acircle of fabric (not shown) is sewn to form the substantially planarsurface 40, 42.

[0037] After the tubular portion 44, 46 is formed and the substantiallyplanar surface 40, 42 is attached, the body 20, 22 is preferably turnedinside out to keep the excess selvage material within the tube. Thefastener 28, 30 is preferably sewn to the circle of fabric on theoutside of the body 20, 22, and is thereby disposed along the planarsurface 40, 42. In this embodiment, the fastener 28, 30 is one side of ahook and loop fastener formed as a disc that is sewn on to the circle offabric and thereby covers it.

[0038] Each tubular portion 44, 46 is stuffed with cushion fill material(not shown) such as polyester fiber or foam hypoallergenic material. Thetubular portion is preferably stuffed with the cushion fill material(not shown) to within approximately 2 inches of the attachment end 32,34. The attachment end 32, 34 is preferably folded or pleated togetherto form an elongated tapered tab 52, 54 and then stitched closed. Theattachment strap 24, 26 is sewn or otherwise affixed to the tapered tab52, 54.

[0039] Each attachment strap 24, 26 is preferably adjustable to allowthe collar supports 16, 18 to be modified to comfortably fit the seatoccupant. In this embodiment, the attachment straps 24, 26 are each madefrom a single strap having the hook side of a hook and loop fastener oneside, and the loop side on the other. Each of the strips 24, 26additionally have a buckle end 21 forming a hole 25 therethrough, and alead end 23.

[0040] In use, each attachment strap 24, 26 attaches the respectivecollar support 16, 18 to a child safety seat 12 or other seatingconveyance, thereby holding the collar support in position. As shown inFIGS. 1-5, the child's sleep collar 10 is preferably attached to achild's booster seat 12 having a left belt positioning clip 56 and aright belt positioning clip 58. The left collar support 16 is attachedto the left belt positioning clip 56 using the left attachment strap 24,and the right collar support 18 is similarly attached to right beltpositioning clip 58 using the right attachment strap 26.

[0041] Each of the collar supports 16, 18 are attached by threading thelead end 23 of each attachment strap around and behind the respectivebelt positioning clip 56, 58, and through the hole 25 formed in thebuckle end 21. Each attachment strap is then secured by coupling thehook and loop sides of each strip to one another where the lead end 23overlaps the loop end 21. Although the collar supports are shown in usewith a child in a booster seat, one having skill in the art recognizesthat they may be used by adults or children in a variety of seats suchas car seats, airplane seats, train seats, or the like.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 4, when a child 60 is retained in the seat 12,the left collar support 16 is coupled to the right collar support 18 byattaching the left fastener 28 to the right fastener 30. When coupled,the child's sleep collar surrounds the neck of the child 60, andprovides lateral support to the child's head and neck, as well asfrontal support. Although the child's sleep collar 10 is coupled acrossthe front of the child's neck, the left collar support 16 is designed tode-couple from the right collar support 18 in the event of excessiveforward motion of the child's neck. This is accomplished in thepreferred embodiment through the arcuate shapes of each collar support16, 18 and the use of hook and loop fasteners 28, 30.

[0043] When the child 60 is sleeping or otherwise casually restingforward against one or both of the collar supports 16, 18, a shear forceis generally transferred to the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30. Becausehook and loop fasteners provide much greater retention in the sheardirection than in the tensile direction normal to the coupled fasteners,the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30 remain coupled when the child isresting against the safety collar.

[0044] When the child 60 is sleeping or otherwise casually restinglaterally against the one of the collar supports 16, 18, a generallytensile force is transferred to the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30.Because the attachment straps 24, 26 allow limited lateral motion ofeach collar support 16, 18 in response to lateral force on one of thecollar supports 16, 18, and because a resting child does not generallyapply significant lateral forces to the collar supports, the hook andloop fasteners 28, 30 remain coupled as the child 60 casually rests hishead laterally against one of the collar supports 16, 18.

[0045] In the event of an accident or other significant forward motionof the child, however, the collar supports 16, 18 de-couple. In such asituation, each of the collar supports 16, 18 tightens around the neckof the child 60 as the child moves forward against the sleep collar 10.By moving against the sleep collar, the neck of the child 60 radiallyapplies a force 62, 64 against each of the arcuate bodies 20, 22. Eachof the radial forces 62, 64 has a force vector 66, 68 acting opposite toeach other and normal to the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30. As such,the opposing force vectors 66, 68 act in the tensile direction tode-couple the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30. Accordingly, the leftcollar support 16 de-couples from the right collar support 18 during anaccident or other forward motion of the child relative to the childsafety seat 12. In the present embodiment, a de-coupling force in thetensile direction of around 8-10 pounds per square inch is sufficient tode-couple the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30.

[0046] One skilled in the art recognizes that although the preferredembodiments include hook and loop fasteners for the fasteners 16, 18,other fastening devices such as snaps, dips, adhesive strips, magnets,or the like may be used. The fasteners 16, 18 preferably possess greaterretention strength in the shear direction versus the tensile direction;however, this is not necessary. The release point of the fasteners 16,18 may be adjusted to ensure that the collar supports 16, 18 generallyremain coupled during casual use of the child's sleep collar 10, and yetde-couple as the child moves forward to prevent strangulation or otherinjury to the child's neck. Likewise, one recognizes that otherattachment devices such as snaps, clips, adhesive strips, magnets,buttons, and the like, or other methods of selectively attaching each ofthe collar supports 16, 18 to the child's safety seat 12, may also beused.

[0047] Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown a child's sleepcollar 110 for use with a child safety seat according to the secondpreferred embodiment of this invention. The second preferred embodimentdiffers from the first preferred embodiment in that the body 120, 122 ofeach of the collar supports 116, 118 are substantially straight ratherthan arcuate. Except for preferences and aspects related to the straightshape of the collar supports, all other preferences and aspects are thesame as the first preferred embodiment.

[0048] In the second preferred embodiment, when the fasteners 128, 130are coupled, the child's sleep collar 110 is generally V-shaped about achild's neck. In the event of an accident or other forward motion of thechild 160, each of the collar supports 116, 118 tightens around the neckof the child as the child moves forward against the sleep collar 110. Bymoving against the sleep collar, the neck of the child 160 applies asubstantially normal force 162, 164 against each of the substantiallystraight bodies 120, 122. Each of the normal forces 162, 164 has a forcevector 166, 168 acting opposite to each other and normal to the hook andloop fasteners 128, 130. As such, the opposing force vectors 166, 168act in the tensile direction to de-couple the hook and loop fasteners128, 130. Accordingly, the left collar support 116 de-couples from theright collar support 118 during an accident or other forward motion ofthe child relative to the child safety seat 112.

[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is shown a child's sleepcollar 210 for use with a child safety seat according to the thirdpreferred embodiment of this invention. The third preferred embodimentdiffers from the first preferred embodiment in that the body 220 of theleft collar support 216 is substantially U-shaped, forming a hook, andthe body 222 of the right collar support 218 is much shorter andsubstantially straight, wherein when coupled, the child's sleep collar210 is substantially U-shaped. Except for preferences and aspectsrelated to the different length and shape of the left collar support 216relative to the right straight collar support 218, all other preferencesand aspects are the same as the first preferred embodiment.

[0050] In the third preferred embodiment, when the fasteners 228, 230are coupled, the child's sleep collar 210 is generally U-shaped about achild's neck. In the event of an accident or other forward motion of thechild 260, a forward force 263 is applied against the left collarsupport 216 along the inside of the left body 220. As such, the forwardforce 263 acts in the tensile direction to de-couple the hook and loopfasteners 228, 230. Accordingly, the left collar support 216 de-couplesfrom the right collar support 218 during an accident or othersignificant forward motion of the child relative to the child safetyseat 212.

[0051] Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, there is shown a child's sleepcollar 310 for use with a child safety seat according to the fourthpreferred embodiment of this invention. The fourth preferred embodimentdiffers from the third preferred embodiment in that the body 320 of theleft collar support 316 is substantially V-shaped, forming a hook,rather than being substantially U-shaped. Except for preferences andaspects related to the different shape of the left collar support 316,all other preferences and aspects are the same as the third preferredembodiment.

[0052] In the fourth preferred embodiment, when the fasteners 328, 330are coupled, the child's sleep collar 310 is generally V-shaped about achild's neck. In the event of an accident or other forward motion of thechild 360, a forward force 363 is applied against the left collarsupport 316 along the inside of the left body 320. The forward force 363has a force vector 366 acting opposite and normal to coupling forcebetween the hook and loop fasteners 328, 330. As such, the force vector366 acts in the tensile direction to de-couple the hook and loopfasteners 328, 330. Accordingly, the left collar support 316 de-couplesfrom the right collar support 318 during an accident or othersignificant forward motion of the child relative to the child safetyseat 312.

[0053] The description of the invention is merely exemplary in natureand, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the inventionare intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variationsare not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A child safety seat for a motor vehiclecomprising: a seat base; a seat back attached substantiallyperpendicularly to the seat base, the seat back having a front side, thefront side having an upper portion and the upper portion having a leftside and a right side; a pair of belt positioning clips for receiving ashoulder belt of a motor vehicle, each belt positioning clip beingattached to the front side of the seat back along the upper portion, onebelt positioning clip being attached to the left side of the upperportion and the other dip being attached to the right side of the upperportion; a left collar support having a first end and a second end, thefirst end being attached to the left belt positioning clip, the secondend forming a left generally planar surface and having a left collarfastener attached to the left planar surface; and a right collar supporthaving a first end and a second end, the first end being attached to theright belt positioning clip, the second end forming a right generallyplanar surface and having a right collar fastener attached to the rightplanar surface for releasably engaging the left collar fastener; whereinthe left planar surface faces the right planar surface face when theleft collar fastener is coupled with the right collar fastener.
 2. Thechild safety seat for a motor vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein theleft collar fastener is selected from the group consisting of a firstside of a hook and loop fastener, a male side of a snap, a first side ofan adhesive strip, and a first magnet.
 3. The child safety seat for amotor vehicle as recited in claim 2, wherein the right collar fastenercooperates to releasably engage the left collar fastener and is selectedfrom the group consisting of a second side of a hook and loop fastener,a female side of a snap, a second side of an adhesive strip, and asecond magnet having a polarity opposite to the first magnet that isoriented toward the first magnet.
 4. The child safety seat for a motorvehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein a retention force between thefasteners when coupled is greater in the shear direction than in thetensile direction.
 5. The child safety seat for a motor vehicle asrecited in claim 1, wherein the left collar support and the right collarsupport each comprise: a body having an attachment end and a couplingend, the coupling end including the collar support second end, therespective planar surface, and the respective collar fastener; a cushionfill material retained within the body; and an attachment strapconnected to the body attachment end for attaching to a belt positioningclip.
 6. The child safety seat for a motor vehicle as recited in claim5, wherein the attachment strap forms a loop, and wherein the first sideof the attachment strap includes the first side of a hook and loopfastener, and the second side of the attachment strap includes thesecond side of a hook and loop fastener.
 7. The child safety seat for amotor vehicle as recited in claim 5, wherein the body is substantiallytubular.
 8. The child safety seat for a motor vehicle as recited inclaim 5, wherein the body is substantially arcuate.
 9. The child safetyseat for a motor vehicle as recited in claim 8, wherein thesubstantially arcuate body of each collar support is adapted totranslate a force applied ly against the arcuate body, when the leftcollar fastener is attached to the right collar fastener, into a tensileforce between the fasteners.
 10. The child safety seat for a motorvehicle as recited in claim 5, wherein the body is substantiallystraight, and, when coupled, the body of each collar support issubstantially perpendicular to the opposing body.
 11. The child safetyseat for a motor vehicle as recited in claim 10, wherein, when thecollar supports are coupled, the substantially straight body of eachcollar support is adapted to translate a force applied against thestraight body, in a direction substantially perpendicular to thestraight body and away from the opposing body, into a tensile forcebetween the fasteners.
 12. A child's sleep collar for use with a childsafety seat, the sleep collar comprising: a pair of collar supports,each collar support comprising: a body having an attachment end and acoupling end, the coupling end defining a substantially planar surface;a cushion fill material retained within the body; an attachment strapconnected to the body attachment end, the attachment strap for attachingto a child safety seat; and a fastener disposed along the planar surfacefor releasably engaging the fastener of the other collar support;wherein each of the planar surfaces face each other when the fastenersare coupled.
 13. The child's sleep collar for use with a child safetyseat as recited in claim 12, wherein the fastener of a first one of thecollar supports is selected from the group consisting of a first side ofa hook and loop fastener, a male side of a snap, a first side of anadhesive strip, and a first magnet.
 14. The child's sleep collar for usewith a child safety seat as recited in claim 13, wherein the fastener ofa second one of the collar supports cooperates to releasably engage thefastener of the first collar support and is selected from the groupconsisting of a second side of a hook and loop fastener, a female sideof a snap, a second side of an adhesive strip, and a second magnethaving a polarity opposite to the first magnet that is oriented towardthe first magnet.
 15. The child's sleep collar for use with a childsafety seat as recited in claim 12, wherein each of the collar supportsare substantially straight, and, when coupled to one another, the collarsupports are substantially perpendicular to each other.
 16. The child'ssleep collar for use with a child safety seat as recited in claim 12,wherein each one of the collar supports are substantially arcuate. 17.The child's sleep collar for use with a child safety seat as recited inclaim 12, wherein the attachment strap forms a loop, and wherein thefirst side of the attachment strap includes the first side of a hook andloop fastener, and the second side of the attachment strap includes thesecond side of a hook and loop fastener.
 18. The child's sleep collarfor use with a child safety seat as recited in claim 12, wherein a firstcollar support of the pair of collar supports has a length substantiallygreater than a second collar support of the pair of collar supports. 19.The child's sleep collar for use with a child safety seat as recited inclaim 18, wherein the first collar support is substantially U-shaped.20. The child's sleep collar for use with a child safety seat as recitedin claim 18, wherein the first collar support is substantially V-shaped.